Directed by:
Marc ForsterScreenplay:
David BenioffCinematography:
Roberto SchaeferCast:
Ewan McGregor, Ryan Gosling, Naomi Watts, Elizabeth Reaser, Bob Hoskins, Kate Burton, Janeane Garofalo, BD Wong, John Tormey, Jessica Hecht, Mark Margolis (more)Plots(1)
A dedicated New York psychiatrist Sam Foster urgently attempts to stop a secretive and unusual young patient he inherited, Henry Lethem, from carrying out a planned suicide on the eve of his 21st birthday. But Sam's investigation of Henry has reality-shattering effects on the psychiatrist. As Sam is drawn deeper into the web of Henry's life--and then into the labyrinth of his subconscious--it puts stress on Sam's relationship with his artist girlfriend and former patient Lila. But soon Sam's own tightly-held grip on the rational world begins to melt away. Faced with increasingly surreal encounters and a Manhattan transformed into a wildly shifting dreamscape, Sam can no longer figure out what is true and what is happening only in his head, nor where he begins and Henry ends. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Videos (1)
Reviews (10)
Before you die you get to a world where you can be who you want to be... A visually compelling, disturbing drama where everything you thought was real falls into time loops and evasive replies by the main protagonists. The ending rather unnecessarily removes the irrational charm of the whole mosaic, but even so it’s very tolerable. Excellent McGregor, excellent Gosling.
()
Marc Forster has made a film so strange and atypical that the actors don't really know what they're playing. Of course we have to approach Stay differently than other films. We can absolutely ignore any genres. Stay is like a dream, and that's how it should be seen. Just as everyone can find something different in their dream to explain what it came from, so too everyone can interpret this film in their own way. Disregard the spoileroid concoctions of the distributor, what the film is really about is pretty much up to the viewer. Even that alone is enough for an absolute rating, and even if it isn't, the visual gore definitely makes up for it.
()
Stay is, in my opinion, Forster's best film to date since Stranger Than Fiction. While it's a pretty dense "psycho" in the end, it doesn't have much in common with Lynch, or rather I would say nothing at all. The directorial inventiveness is decent in Forster's work, but compared to, say, Aronofsky's brilliant Requiem for a Dream, it falls quite a bit short in this regard. :) Still, I’m giving about 90% for the quality of the form and for the rather good script. The cast is also very likable.
()
The perfect atmosphere, full of paranoia, fear, mystery, and confusion, all supported by a great soundtrack. I am giving it a practically neutral review because even though the movie absorbed me and I was holding my breath the entire time, I expected the climax on the bridge to provide me with some answers, but as it so often happens with movies like this, it turned out to be the complete opposite. I understood the main plotline in my own way, perhaps incorrectly, and the secondary one (Henry's father) almost not at all. However, the visual aspect, full of camera tricks, is enough to rate it this high in my opinion, even though the ending cooled my enthusiasm a bit.
()
The interesting formal style, along with perfect acoustics and the typical minimalism of Marc Forster, is placed in front of a rugged and confusing script, where the final twist is by far the most unnecessary. The characters are played decently and Ryan Gosling's performance is very surprising, showcasing truly excellent talent. The slightly confusing editing can be easily overlooked, and you can indulge in the excellently arranged production design and the meticulously crafted technical aspect of the film. Unfortunately, the attempt to achieve a true “Lynch-style” somehow did not succeed. Forster is too restrained and proper as a director and person. It is a solid and intricate piece, but it does not bring innovation in any aspect.
()
Ads